Jump to content

Beyond Magenta

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by William Avery (talk | contribs) at 09:40, 24 October 2023 (MOS:HEAD). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Beyond Magenta
AuthorSusan Kuklin
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung adult non-fiction
PublisherCandlewick Press
Publication date
February 11, 2014
Publication placeUnited States
Pages192
ISBN978-0-7636-5611-9

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out is a 2014 book written by American author Susan Kuklin. For the book, Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults, describing their sense of identity before, during, and after transitioning.

Beyond Magenta has received many awards. Despite its reception, the book was on the Top 10 Most Challenged Books lists for 2015 and 2019.[1]

Background

After writing No Choirboy, a book about incarcerated teens, Kuklin wondered what it might feel like to be imprisoned inside your own body, which led her to thinking about transgender individuals.[2] From here, Kuklin reached out to the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in Manhattan, "which primarily serves New York's LGBT community and has a teen health outreach program."[2] There, Kuklin connected with five transgender youth who became the center of Beyond Magenta. The sixth teenager represented in the book was contacted through "Proud Theater, a nonprofit, all-volunteer theater group for gay and lesbian youth in Madison, Wis[consin]."[2]

After connecting with the teens, Kuklin interviewed each of them, then pieced the stories together to create a cohesive narrative.[2]

Reception

Beyond Magenta received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly,[3] Booklist,[4] and Kirkus Reviews.[5]

Publishers Weekly noted that the book's "chief value isn't just in the stories it reveals but in the way Kuklin captures these teenagers not as idealized exemplars of what it 'means' to be transgender but as full, complex, and imperfect human beings."

Kirkus called the book "[i]nformative, revealing, powerful and necessary,"[5] and Booklist's Michael Cart "highly recommended" it.[4]

School Library Journal called Beyond Magenta a "powerful and important reading ... that every teen should read," saying, "What makes this book outstanding is the way that Kuklin allows the teen voice to shine, with very little authorial interruption."[6] However, they noted that it didn't have "the literary chops" of other books.[6]

The audiobook, narrated by Tanya Eby, received a positive review from Booklist, who noted that "A cast of talented narrators comes together for this honest and heartfelt recording."[7]

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[8] Advocate,[9] Shelf Awareness,[10] Kirkus,[5] and Redbery Books[11] named Beyond Magenta one of the best nonfiction books of 2014.

Awards and honors

Year Award/Honor Result Ref.
2015 American Library Association Rainbow List Selection [12]
Bank Street College of Education's Flora Stieglitz Straus Award Winner [13]
International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society Selection [14]
Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's/Young Adult Literature Winner [15]
National Council on Social Studies' Notable Book Selection [16]
National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Books for a Better Life Award for Childcare/Parenting Selection [17]
Stonewall Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature Honor [18][19]
2014 Foreword INDIE for Young Adult Nonfiction Winner [20]
Cybils Award: Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist [21]
CCBC Choices for Understanding Oneself and Others Selection [22]
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books' Blue Ribbon for Nonfiction Selection [23]
Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth Selection [24]

Bans

Beyond Magenta landed the 27th spot on the American Library Association's list of the most banned and challenged books in the United States between 2010 and 2019.[25]

In 2015, Beyond Magenta was listed as the fourth-most banned book in the United States because of its inclusion of offensive language, homosexuality, and sex education.[1] Challengers deemed the book anti-family and inappropriate for the age group, also stating that it had conflicts with political and religious viewpoints.[1]

In 2019, Beyond Magenta became the second-most banned book because of its LGBTQIA+ content, "its effect on any young people who would read it," and concerns that it was sexually explicit and biased.[1] As of 2022, eleven U.S. school districts have banned the book.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c d American Library Association (26 March 2013). "Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  2. ^ a b c d Lodge, Sally (2013-12-12). "'Beyond Magenta' Spotlights Transgender Teens". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  3. ^ "Children's Book Review: Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin. Candlewick, $22.99 (192p) ISBN 978-0-7636-5611-9". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  4. ^ a b Cart, Michael (2014-02-01). Beyond Magenta. Retrieved 2022-01-29 – via Booklist.
  5. ^ a b c "Beyond Magenta". Kirkus Reviews. 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  6. ^ a b "Beyond Magenta". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  7. ^ Beyond Magenta.
  8. ^ "2014 Blue Ribbons". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  9. ^ Kellaway, Mitchell (2014-11-05). "The Year's 10 Best Transgender Non-Fiction Books". Advocate. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  10. ^ Andrea Camilleri (2014-12-15). "Our 2014 Best Books of the Year". Shelf Awareness. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  11. ^ "Redbery Books Issue for Friday, December 12, 2014". redberybooks.shelf-awareness.com. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  12. ^ Gonzales, Naomi (2015-02-01). "2015 Rainbow Book List". Rainbow Book List. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  13. ^ Hare, Peter. "Past Winners". Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  14. ^ "IRA Notable Books For A Global Society - High School - Booksource". www.booksource.com. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  15. ^ "The 27th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists". Lambda Literary. 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  16. ^ National Council for the Social Studies (2015). Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People 2015 (PDF). Children's Book Council.
  17. ^ National Multiple Sclerosis Society (2014-11-20). "Books for A Better Life Awards Finalists Announced". Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  18. ^ Amundenson, John L. (2015-02-03). "2015 Stonewall Book Awards announced". American Library Association News. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  19. ^ "Stonewall Book Awards List". American Library Association. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  20. ^ ""Beyond Magenta" is a 2014 Foreword INDIES Winner". Foreword Reviews. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  21. ^ "2014 Finalists: Nonfiction for Young Adults". Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  22. ^ Horning, Kathleen T. (2015). CCBC choices 2015. Merri V. Lindgren, Megan Schliesman, Emily McKnight Townsend, University of Wisconsin--Madison. Cooperative Children's Book Center. Madison, WI: Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. ISBN 978-0-931641-25-1. OCLC 906592743.
  23. ^ The Center for Children's Books. "2014 Blue Ribbons | Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books". The Bulletin. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  24. ^ Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2014, by | Booklist Online.
  25. ^ KPEKOLL (2020-09-09). "Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  26. ^ Galvan, Pilar; Advani, Reena; Inskeep, Steve (2022-12-21). "Banned Books: Author Susan Kuklin on telling stories that inform understanding". NPR. Retrieved 2022-12-23.

Books Unbanned, Brooklyn Public Library

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beyond_Magenta&oldid=1181640734"